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The little known Anglican community in Catholic Spain

Spain is traditionally known as one of the world's most Catholic countries, but there are many Anglican and other English-speaking churches around the country.

Published: 4 July 2024 09:20 CEST

The little known Anglican community in Catholic Spain

Saint George’s Anglican Church in Salamanca District, Madrid. Photo: Uriel1022/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Spain is regarded as one of Europe’s and the world’s most Catholic countries, although the trend now is more towards cultural Catholicism rather than a devout religiosity, and the numbers back this up.

In May 1978, 90.5 percent of Spaniards described themselves as Catholic. By October 2021, however, that figure had fallen to 55.4 percent, according to the CIS, Spain’s sociological research centre. Of those, less and less are practicing beyond going to Mass on special occasions like Christmas and Easter.

Nonetheless, whether it be Seville’s world famous Semana Santa celebrations, or the endless street names named after famous Bishops and Priests, or even the occasional nun you see walking down the street, Spain is undoubtedly still a Catholic country.

It may come as a surprise to you then to learn that the Anglican Church claims that Madrid’s first cathedral was not Catholic but Anglican. In fact, the capital city is home to several Anglican churches, and there are many more scattered around Spain.

Anglican churches can be found as far flung as Seville and Galicia, Bilbao, all long the Costa del Sol around the Málaga area, as well as in southeastern Spain from Murcia up through Alicante to Valencia and Barcelona and beyond. They can also be found on the Balearic and Canary Islands, Zaragoza, and Salamanca.

Below is a map of all the Anglican churches in Spain that are associated with the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church. There are likely many more that have popped up to cater to British migrant communities.

Anglicanism in Spain

Anglicanism in Spain goes back a long way, and has its roots in the 16th-century Spanish Reformation when certain Spaniards supported the Protestant Reformation led by Martin Luther in Germany.

Initially Anglicanism was adopted by some (in reality very few) members of the Spanish nobility, though of course these numbers paled in comparison to the pre-established Catholic hegemony in the country.

Nowadays this is made up of two separate Church bodies, namely the Spanish Reformed Episcopal Church, which are the majority, and then Church of England’s European Diocese which usually cater for British immigrants living in Spain.

Anglican All Saints Church in the Tenerife town of Puerto de la Cruz, in the Canary Islands. Photo: Koppchen/Wikipedia (CC BY 3.0)

The latter are usually English-language churches where the services are carried out in English, whereas the Spanish Episcopal church services are in Spanish for Spaniards.

Increasingly, many Anglican churches also attract Latin American migrants.

In terms of total congregation numbers, it’s hard to say. Carlos López Lozano, Spain’s most senior Anglican bishop, told COPE radio network that “In terms of membership, the figures are around 20,000 in total, which includes Spaniards and British people living in our country.”

Anglican Madrid

Incredibly for the capital city of a Catholic country, at the end of the 19th century Madrid’s first cathedral was built… and it reportedly wasn’t Catholic.

La Catedral del Redentor was built in and 1880 and still stands on Calle de la Beneficencia, in Malasaña, just behind the Barceló Market.

This means that there are daily church services in the Spanish capital that don’t look to the Pope in the Vatican, but to the Archbishop of Canterbury in England.

In total there are five Anglican churches in the Madrid regions and few Madrileños are aware of their existence. They are in Móstoles, Alcorcón, Navalcarnero, the aforementioned Madrid cathedral and the church of San Jorge (Saint George) in calle Núñez de Balboa.

Other English speaking churches in Spain

Spain is also home to several other types of English-speaking churches that are non-Catholic.

There’s the International Christian Assembly in Torrevieja (Alicante) an evangelical church which does services in English, Spanish and Dutch.

There’s also the Barcelona International Church, the Cádiz All Nations Christian Fellowship, Calahonda Baptist Church in Mijas, Málaga, Salt Church, an evangelical church in Los Alcázares, Murcia, as well as the Immanuel Baptist Church in Madrid, Madrid International Church, an evangelical church with offers bilingual services, and Elim Family Fellowship church, a pentecostal church in Málaga.

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What Labour's UK election win means for Brits in Spain

The Labour party won a landslide victory in the UK general election on Thursday, bringing an end to 14 years of Conservative party rule.

The result has gained significant coverage in the Spanish press on Friday morning, reflecting the sense that it’s a sea change moment for British society.

El País went with the headline: “UK ends Conservative era, gives Labour’s Starmer a historic majority.” Spanish daily El Mundo reports: “Labour’s ‘supermajority’ ushers in a new era in the UK.”

Online outlet 20 Minutos chose to highlight the longevity and unpredictability of Tory rule: “Conservative decline in the UK: Brexit, an 8-year ordeal and five leaders gives way to the Labour party.”

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez congratulated Starmer on Twitter/X this afternoon, saying that “Spain and the UK are friends, partners and allies. We will continue to work together to tackle global challenges on the basis of our shared values.”

Enhorabuena, @Keir_Starmer, nuevo primer ministro de Reino Unido.

Felicidades por la histórica victoria del laborismo, @UKLabour, en las elecciones.

España y Reino Unido son países amigos, socios y aliados. Continuaremos trabajando juntos para hacer frente a los retos globales…

— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) July 5, 2024

Labour ‘supermajority’

The new Labour government enters office at a time of high political and economic uncertainty, stagnant growth, public services pushed to breaking point, and Britain’s international reputation tarnished after the Conservative government staggered from calamity to calamity in recent years.

Leading up to the election, the question was not if Labour would win but when, and how big the majority will be. In the end Labour has won one of the biggest landslides in British political history, taking 412 seats. However, in terms of vote share it won just 33.8 percent of the vote, less than when it lost in 2017 under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.

The Conservatives polled 23.7 percent, a staggering fall from the 42.4 percent it won in 2019 under Boris Johnson, and has been reduced to 121 seats.

Smaller parties and independent candidates also had successful nights and capitalised on the general malaise and anti-Tory feeling in the country. As such, many political pundits are viewing this huge Labour victory not as an endorsement of the party or Keir Starmer, but an anti-Tory majority.

Many this morning will, despite having just handed the party a huge landslide victory, be wondering what exactly Labour intends to do with this power.

For many Brits in Spain (as well as those in the UK), the elephant in the room in this regard is, of course, Brexit.

What the new Labour government does (or more likely, doesn’t) do with its massive majority could have big implications on life for approximately 400,000 UK nationals living in Spain.

Sue Wilson MBE, Chair of the Bremain in Spain pressure group, told The Local that she was happy to see the back of the Conservative government that denied British citizens’ rights abroad: “Though not unexpected, we are delighted to be rid of the Tory government that caused so much economic damage, wasted so much taxpayers money and that gave us Brexit.

“They robbed British citizens in Europe of so many valued rights and benefits whilst destroying the dreams of so many in the UK that hoped to follow in our footsteps. That option is now only available to the well off,” she added.

Keir Starmer (R) in 2017, back when he was the Labour Party’s Shadow Brexit Secretary. (Photo by Geoff CADDICK / AFP)

Starmer and Labour’s Brexit policy

But what, if anything, does a Labour government actually mean for Brexit and Brits in Spain?

For many, Starmer first came to national prominence in his role as Brexit secretary in the Corbyn shadow cabinet. He was then an ardent Remainer, and largely responsible for Labour’s eventual position on a second referendum, demanding that the British people deserve a “confirmatory vote” on Europe.

How things have changed. In the build-up to the election Starmer categorically ruled out the idea of rejoining the single market and the customs union, let alone a second referendum on rejoining the EU. He has, however, stated that he will take steps to ease trade barriers and sign a bolstered security agreement with Brussels.

Asked recently by the British press if he could envision Britain re-entering the EU in his lifetime, Starmer was unequivocal. “No. I don’t think that that is going to happen,” he said. “I’ve been really clear about not rejoining the EU, the single market or the customs union – or a return to freedom of movement.”

In essence, despite his Remain-backing past, Starmer’s position seems to be that Labour can improve the Brexit deal signed by the Johnson government in January 2020, rather than tear it up or try and force the UK back into the EU on new terms.

For those hoping to rejoin the EU, this will be disappointing. Brexit became something of an internal psychodrama for the Conservative party, yet Starmer’s Labour appear to have accepted it as the political framework and don’t dare to reopen the debate.

For the 400,000+ UK nationals living in Spain, this will dash dreams of potentially improving their residency rights, working and tax arrangements, and family and living situations.

Data released by Eurostat in November 2023 showed that of a total of 858,000 Britons with the right to live in EU Member States post-Brexit, 412,000 (48 percent) reside in Spain. UK nationals make up one of Spain’s largest migrant groups.

A man holds European Union and British flags during a protest against Brexit in Málaga in 2019. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)

Does this actually change anything for Brits in Spain?

Labour has been tight-lipped on what its Brexit policy will actually mean in practical terms, but of the few concrete proposals it has outlined so far there are plans to revamp a veterinary deal on animal products to ease on paperwork and border checks, as well as making it easier for qualifications to be recognised abroad.

Labour has also promised to enshrine rights to consular assistance for UK citizens abroad in cases of human rights violations, and to make reciprocal arrangements for touring artists and musicians moving between the UK and EU.

In terms of broad strokes commitments, however, it’s hardly ambitious.

With regards to Labour’s largely non-committal approach to Brexit, Wilson of Bremain in Spain tells The Local: “As for the new government, their insistence that the single market, customs union and EU itself is off the table flies in the face of growing public opinion. Hopefully, that position is unsustainable, and it is one we will continue to challenge.”

One way that it may still become unsustainable over time is due to the economy. Starmer and his soon to be Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, have bet almost their entire political platform on securing economic growth.

Getting the economy growing in order to invest, rather than increasing taxes or borrowing, has been the Labour economic message.

However, experts suggest that rejoining the single market or customs union would significantly boost the British economy, so some hold out hope that the political and economic reality may force the new Labour government to reconsider its position on Europe somewhere down the line.

Cynics of Starmer suggest that his cautious Brexit position, as with U-turns on other policy areas including the Green New Deal policy, was part of a wider campaign strategy to remain uncontroversial and win the election by default. Critics argue this is evidence of backtracking on pledges and saying whatever is necessary to win power.

For Spain’s británicos, as well as millions of pro-Europeans back in the UK, they will hope this was indeed an electoral ploy rather than a hardline position, and that Starmer, now backed by a massive Commons majority, will have the confidence to rekindle some of his Remainer instincts.

96 percent of Gibraltar’s population voted for the UK to remain in the EU in the 2016 referendum. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)

Closer UK-EU ties

However, though the prospect of a second referendum or fully rejoining the EU seems unlikely, rebuilding Britain’s relationship with the EU does seem more plausible under a Labour government.

The man expected to be the next Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, has stated that a Labour victory could symbolise a new page in UK-EU relations.

Speaking to the Foreign Press Association, Lammy said recently: “I think we are in a cycle where we have to turn the page on the rancour and some of the bitterness that we’ve seen in the past and move forward.

Gibraltar

One glaring aspect of this is Gibraltar. Though Boris Johnson’s landslide 2019 victory was won on the premise of getting Brexit ‘done’, in reality the deal negotiation by the Johnson government was incomplete.

Despite the referendum vote being eight years ago, and the UK officially leaving the EU four years ago, there is still no official Brexit deal for Gibraltar.

Since then, locals have lived in uncertainty, and border arrangements have essentially been fudged by Spanish authorities and proven unpredictable.

Lammy has signalled his intention to pick up negotiations where predecessor David Cameron left off. Before the election was called, Spanish press reports stated that Cameron’s injection into government had improved talks. Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares suggested significant progress was made before talks were suspended for the election campaign.

“It’s a file that clearly I will pick up from David Cameron, and I look forward to doing that,” Lammy stated. “I recognise it’s an outstanding issue that comes out of the Brexit arrangements, and I will pick that up.”

Many in Gibraltar will hope that a new government can refresh talks and finally bring Brexit to a conclusion after years of negotiations and uncertainty.

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